Tasty Meals At Home!

2008-04-20T08:04:00.000-07:00

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Duo of Shrimp!

2008-04-19T10:33:00.000-07:00

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Here are two recipes that have been tried and time tested for years with great raves: honey walnut shrimp (HWS) and Jenny's Shrimp (JS). The two dishes are Asian influenced and give off two very different flavors. The HWS is creamy and sweet with bits of walnut to crunch up the palate while the JS is very bold--spicy and tangy with lots of garlic. They are simple to make and will be crowd pleasers! :)

Before making the delicious sauces, we have to have a base of fried shrimp:

Prep: How to Bread and Fry Asian Shrimp

1 egg white
1 cup cornstarch
water
peeled and de-veined shrimp

Combine 1 egg white, 1 cup cornstarch and water. Add water until you get a slurry/smooth consistency. Make sure it is not lumpy.

Dip shrimp in mixture and fry in oil for 3 minutes--until it is crispy. Shrimp may not become brown and be a slighly tannish color. If the shrimp is brown, you probably overcooked the shrimp.

1. Honey Walnut Shrimp

Things You Will Need:

Fried Shrimp
Sweetened/glazed walnut
Condensed Milk
Mayo
honey
salt & pepper

lemon juice

*not pictured: lemon juice

What to Do:

Put about 4 tbsp of mayo into a food processor or bowl. Add 1 tbsp of condensed milk and 1 tbsp of honey into the food processor/bowl. Also add 1 tbsp of lemon juice.

Once mixture is well blended, add a small pinch of salt and pepper to taste.

You are nearly done! Mix the shrimp into the sauce and add in the walnuts. Easy! :)

2. Jenny's Shrimp

Things you will need:

Fried Shrimp
ketchup
sweet chili sauce--can also be sweet and sour sauce
Korean hot pepper paste (gochu jang 고추장)--optional
hot sauce
garlic
onion

What to Do:

Saute the garlic and onions until brown. Add in about 3 tbsp of sweet chili sauce and 1 tbsp of ketchup.

Next add in a few shakes of hot sauce for kicks! Now to take it up one more a notch, we put in a good squirt of Korean pepper paste--totally optional. :P

Now mix in the fried shrimp into the sauce...and done! :)

The Burrito Recipe

2008-04-05T13:22:00.000-07:00

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Let's dive in!

1. Steak Mojo

Things You will Need:

Skirt Steak (you can use any cut of your choice)
Garlic - 4 cloves
Cilantro
Lime juice
Lemon juice
Jalapeno - fresh or can
1/2 cup Olive Oil
2 tablespoons White Vinegar
S + P

* It all seems like a lot, but it REALLY isn't! You'll see!

*We ended up not using the tomato. Not pictured in this picture is the garlic

To start off, we have to first marinate the meat. We chose to use to skirt steak but you can use anything you would like. The most common are top-round, sirloin, flank etc you commonly used in carne asada.

To marinate the steak, combine garlic, jalapeños, lime juice, lemon juice, cilantro, white vinegar, olive oil, and salt and pepper in a food processor/chopper. You can also just chop up the ingredients if you don't have one...but this will take forever!

The Marinade should look like this:

Let the steak marinate in the fridge for 1 hour or more for a stronger flavor.

In the meantime, let's prepare the rice (Scroll down for recipe)!

1 Hour Later....
Set a pan on high heat and heat the pan to a high heat. Add your steak to a dry pan and begin to fry it up. Cook the steak to your liking. For burritos, we prefer to have the steak medium well.

2. Rice
Things You Will Need:

1 tsp of veg. oil or butter
fresh cilantro
2/3 cup long grain or white basmati rice
1 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 lime for juice

We adapted this recipe from an online source that stated that it was released from Chipotle! So yay, for those of you who love Chipotle's Rice--let's celebrate! :)

Heat oil/butter over low heat and stir until melted. Add rice and lime juice. Stir for one minute.

Add water and salt, bring to a full boil. Once boiling, cover, turn down heat so that it simmers and cook until rice is tender ~25 minutes.

Once the rice is done, stir in the fresh cilantro.

DONE! How EASY was THAT?

3. The Accessories!

NOW the burrito is almost done. Go to the grocery store and get some cheese, sour cream, etc. Don't forget to get your flour tortilla too! Pile on the rice, meat, sauce, cheese, and sour cream. Wrap it up and YESSS.. dig in folks!

NOTE: We also made some corn salsa. If you would like this recipe, email us, and we will gladly share it with you. We wanted to post it up, but unfortunately, no pictures were take of this, so we decided not to post it up.

A Burrito's Better Half

2008-03-30T09:52:00.001-07:00

What makes a perfect burrito? To us, it's the perfect tomatillo salsa that goes with the burrito. In this post, we will share with you our spicy sauce recipe. It's a smoky flavor involving chipotle chilies in adobo sauce. We've been told it tastes very similar to Chipotle's hot tomatillo sauce. Ours tends to be on the HOTTER side, so beware and adjust each amount accordingly! :) Are you ready? Here it goes!

Things you will Need:

1 can of chipotle chilies in adobo sauce (this can be found in the Latin American section in the grocery store)
12-14 pieces of dried arbol chilies (also can be in found in the L.A. section)
cilantro
onion
garlic
1-2 pieces of sun dried tomato (optional)
salt and pepper to taste water

*not pictured are the can of adobo chili and sun dried tomato*

What to Do:

Before we begin, it will be IMMENSELY helpful if you have a food processor/food chopper handy. If you don't have this available, you will risk the chance of making your sauce very very chunky and gross. So, please, do yourself a favor and use this handy device! :P

First slice the onion in half. Loosely wrap the onion in aluminum foil and stick it in the oven until it is slightly charred around the edges.

Before:

After:

So, while the onion is in the broiler, get your chilies and garlic (you can use however much you desire. We used around 4 pieces of garlic) and lightly toast them on a fry pan.

Next, take the chilies and garlic off the pan and let them cool. After that, slice the stems of the chilies off. At this time, you can take out the seeds that are in the chilies to make the sauce less spicy.

Next, place the de-stemmed chilies, garlic, and tomatoes into a small pot of boiling salted water. Lower the heat, and let simmer for about 20 minutes.

Ok, so now, the hard part is over! Take out your food chopper and put in two generous tablespoons of the chipotle chilies. Also, put in your onion and chop chop chop!

Next, put in the chillies, garlic, and tomatoes into the chopper and continue to chop chop chop! You will notice that your sauce is very thick. At this time, put in the water used to boil the chillies into the chopper and continue to work the food processor. Continue doing so until you get the right consistency (if you like it more liquidy, put more water). Also, if you find the sauce to be too spicy, use regular water instead of the boiled water. Please don't go overboard with the water, as it will dilute all the hard flavors you tried so hard to create.

Next, put in the cilantro and add in the salt. Add in pinchfuls of salt and turn on the food processor and then taste until you get that perfect taste. This may take a few tries. Be sure to add pinchfuls at a time, though! You don't want to oversalt the salsa!

Final Product!

Beautiful, ain't it? Hmm..now all it needs is the perfect burrito...next update! :)

Oh So Tasty Red Rice!

2008-03-25T01:20:00.000-07:00

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This is a favorite side dish of ours. It's moist, powerfully flavorful, and hits the spot every single time. This dish goes deliciously with the fried chicken and mac and cheese. Of course, it's a star by itself, too! :)

~~Recipe to Come Soon!~~

Things you will need for 4 servings:

1 cup diced bacon
1 medium onion finely diced
1 stalk celery
1/2 green bell pepper - seeded and finely diced
1 can whole tomatoes /w liquid
1 tomato (optional)
1 can chicken broth
1 cup long grain rice
salt/pepper + your favorite spices (we used Lawry's seasoning)

What to Do:

Begin rendering diced bacon in a heavy pot until golden brown and crispy. Remove bacon and save approximately half the bacon grease left over to saute vegetables.

Add in the onions, green pepper, and celery and saute in the bacon grease until tender.

Next add in your canned tomato and continue stirring.

Add in the crispy bacon and your long grain rice, don't forget to wash it!!

Next add in the 1 can of chicken broth and 1 extra cup of water.

At this point, add in your seasonings of choice and salt and pepper. Be careful on salt because the bacon and chicken broth are naturally salty. Stir the rice and vegetables and heat to boiling. Reduce the heat to very low and cook covered until the rice is tender. Stir once or twice during cooking to avoid sticking. Check the seasoning and add hot sauce to taste.

-Enjoy!

The Best Macaroni and Cheese

2008-03-03T18:54:00.001-08:00

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Cheesy and not too heavy! This dish is a perfect as a main dish or side dish. We Love it!

Ingredients:
Macaroni
Parmesan Cheese
Cheddar Cheese
Cheez Whiz
Heavy Cream
Butter
Nutmeg
Salt
Pepper
Flour
Bread Crumbs

What to Do:
The first step in making home-made mac and cheese is to create a 'Rou.' Melt butter into a pot and stir in flour slowly while stirring constantly. When the rou becomes brown, add the cream and stir until the mixture begins simmering.

At this point, add the cheddar cheese in and contiune stiring until almost melted. Next add in the Cheez Whiz and some of the Parmesan cheese. Add the nutmeg as well here.

Meanwhile, begin boiling the macaroni in salted water until it's almost cooked.

Add the cooked mac into the cheese mixture and stir. Season with additional salt and pepper until flavor is desired.

Transfer mac and cheese into a baking dish and add the remaining Parmesan cheese and some bread crumbs for a nice crust to be made. You can add additional butter on top for a nicer crust. Put the baking dish into a 375 degree oven for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Serve immediately !!

ENJOY!

Tasty Fried Chicken At Home!

2008-02-24T18:40:00.000-08:00

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Who needs KFC if you can make your own fried chicken at home!! Tonight we set out to make our own fried chicken from scratch starting from buying fresh chicken legs at the local supermarket. You can get chicken breasts, thighs and wings, but we just stuck with legs, our favorites.

What You Need:

chicken
flour
buttermilk
vegetable oil
salt and pepper
cayenne pepper
Lawry's seasoning
Tobasco Sauce (not pictured)
paprika

What To Do:

The first step is to season them highly with spices. We used salt, pepper, paprika, cayenne pepper, lawry's seasoning salt, and tabasco. You can also used fresh or dried herbs like thyme, rosemary, basil, and chive if you would like.

Soak the chicken in the buttermilk and seasoning mixture for 1-2 hours in the fridge until ready to fry!

In the meantime, prepare the flour mixture. This consists of the dried spices used earlier and flour - mix well.

Lift and drain the buttermilk and dredge the chicken into the flour. Dredge them nicely but shake off the excess flour and put into the hot oil. You can double dip the chicken back into the buttermilk and flour mixture for a thicker crust/coating if desired.

When ready to fry, prepare a pot of hot oil and bring to a high temperature ~350 degrees. Most people like to use a deep, well seasoned cast iron skillet pan, but we don't have one (yet) so we just used a regular wok.

Fry for a good 7-10 minutes per side until golden brown. Flip and repeat. By 20 minutes, the chicken should be tender on the inside. To be sure, cut one open and see if the juices run clear. If so, the chicken is done. Also by just looking at it, one should be able to tell if chicken is cooked.

Lastly, seasoning the chicken with salt or lawry's seasoning right after taking them out of the fryer. Serve and Enjoy!!

Are You Getting "Jjigae" With It?

2008-02-21T12:27:00.000-08:00

If I was stranded on an island and was allowed only one kind of meal for the rest of my life, I would choose my mom's kimchee jjigae (김치 찌개). Kimchee jjigae, aka kimchee stew, is an incredibly easy dish to make, but it is also an incredibly difficult dish to make 'right.' This is my rendition of my mom's kimchee jjigae...I got to admit, it isn't as good as hers, but it comes darn close!

Things You Will Need:

kimchee (very fermented!!)
sliced spam (you can substitute this with pork)
pinch of hon dashi
1/2 spoonful of sugar
1 1/2 cup water
oil
sliced green onion for garnish

As you can see from above, you don't need that many ingredients to make this stew. This stew is meant for you to enjoy and appreciate the flavor of kimchee, so make certain to get yourself some good fermented kimchee. I usually buy mine at a Korean grocery store, and just keep it in the fridge for a good 2-3 weeks and let it ferment. If the kimchee is too fresh, I can bet that you will end up with a flavorless and bland stew.

Well fermented kimchee will leave your tongue with a somewhat soury taste. It will also appear slightly more opaque than fresh kimchee.

What to Do:

1. I like to cook my stew in a traditional Korean stone pot, but feel free to use a regular ol' pot at home. Drizzle a little oil in the pot over medium heat.

2. Get a large spoonful of kimchee and put it in the hot pot.

3. Saute the kimchee for a good five minutes. When I say saute, I mean saute, don't leave the kimchee in one place for even a second! Hey, it's a good work out!

4. After the five minutes, you will notice your kimchee getting dry, and the oil gone. At this time, get a large spoon/ladle, and get about 3 spoonfuls of kimchee sauce from your kimchee container and pour it into the pot. Continue to saute for another 3-5 minutes.

5. Add in the sliced spam (or pork) and continue to saute for another minute.

6. Look for the texture of the kimchee. I personally like my kimchee to be buttery soft so that it practically falls apart and melts in my mouth. The kimchee should begin to look translucent.and wilted..this is what you want:

7. Now add in the H2O!

8. Add in a good pinch of hon dashi.

9. Add in the sugar. Adding in the sugar will leave you with a somewhat sweet-tangy tasting stew, which is what my mom is famous for. If you do not want this, feel free to skip this step.

10. Now, close the lid, and simmer for a good 15 minutes.

11. Garnish with the green onions and you are DONE. Enjoy!!!! -H

Restaurant Review: David Burke - Venetian, Las Vegas, NV

2008-02-18T12:59:00.000-08:00

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We had a memorable meal the last time we visited LV @ the David Burke Restaurant. Here are K's thoughts on this restaurant.:

Before we watched Phantom of the Opera we stopped by Restaurant David Burke at Venetian's restaurant row for a quick bite. The ambiance of the place is modern and nice. Dark colors mixed with colors enhanced the overall experience and feeling while eating at the restaurant. Service was good and very attentive. Trying not eat too much before show, we ordered a few appetizers and 1 entree to share. They first brought out bread which was freshly baked into individual serving trays. We thought the bread was extremely buttery but deliciously good. The bread also came with a side of butter that had a slight sprinkling of salt on top and sat on a slab of rock salt - that was fancy for us!

Next came the amuse bouche which wasn't really needed but a treat to have. It comprised of shrimp, crab and some veggies.

Finally our appetizers and entree came. We ordered the crab cake appetizer and it arrived with a side of mixed greens served with a vinegarette. The crab cake was a slightly oily because they put some sort of pretzel layer on the outside and was fried. There were actual pieces of crab in there with very little bread filling. Flavor was overall tasty! H: I didn't really like it, b/c I was not fond of the orange-ish sauce that was dribbled over the crab cake.

Our salad was very delicious. However, we did not care for the potatoes that were in the salad...H: maybe there is a reason why potatoes are rarely included in salads..?!

Finally our entree to share was the Beef Short Ribs served with vegetables and creamy pasta. The short rib was extremely tender but it lacked substantial flavor. We are used to Asian style short ribs with heavy marinades that are sweet, yet savoy. The short ribs we had here were more of a traditional preparation, maybe French? It was good but I would not order it again. H: Actually I've been to a French restaurant and ordered the beef short ribs before. The ribs there were very savory and flavorful...so I'm not too sure if David Burke's rendition was French inspired. Anyhow, I do agree with K in that the ribs lacked a little something.

I would recommend David Burke for a nice dinner. The overall experience based only on service and appetizers was great. I would try a steak or other entree next time as those seemed good by eye-ing the room a bit.

Crabcake

2008-02-17T23:57:00.000-08:00

Here is the recipe for the delicious crabcakes:

What you Need:

Olive oil
1 cup small diced onions
1/2 cup small diced celery
1/2 cup small diced green bell peppers
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 pound lump crabmeat, cleaned and picked (canned or fresh)
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1/4 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley leaves
3 tablespoons mustard
juice of 2 lemons
2 eggs
1/2 cup of mayo
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce (we used Tabasco)
1 1/2 cups fine bread crumbs

optional: cayenne, paprika, garlic powder for seasoning

For the Sauce/Topping:

2 parts mayo
1 part mustard (we mixed yellow and whole dijon)
minced garlic
lemon zest and lemon juice

What to Do:
Heat the olive oil in a medium pan over medium heat. Add the onions, celery, and peppers and season with salt and pepper. Saute for 5 minutes and add the garlic and continue to saute for 2-3 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat and cool for 5 minutes. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the crabmeat, green onions, grated cheese, parsley, mustard, and juice of 1 and half lemon. Mix to incorporate. Set the mixture aside.

Fold the cooled sauteed vegetables into the crab mixture. Add the Worcestershire and Tabasco sauce at this point. Fold 1/2 cup of the mayonnaise and 3/4 cup of the bread crumbs into the crab mixture and mix gently but avoid breaking up the lump cake.

Portion the filling into patties, about 1-inch thick:

Pour olive oil or you can use butter into a saute pan on medium heat. Dredge the cakes in the seasoned flour or seasoned bread crumbs. Gently fry the cakes in the oil and for 3-4 minutes on each side, check occasionally for brownness - this depends on your heat.

Remove the cakes from the oil and drain on a paper-lined plate.

....and Tada!!!! You are Done! Serve it with a fresh salad, and you have a lovely meal:

Have Fun Cooking!

Feeling Crabby?

2008-02-16T23:18:00.001-08:00

We are huge crab lovers. Take us to a seafood buffet, and you'll find us in line for the crab legs even before we set foot in the restaurant (yes, we can teleport when crab is involved).

Anywho, we made our first crab cakes today, and they were a HUGE delicious success--meaty chunks of lump crab with lemon juice...yummy!

They are easy to make at home, and will certainly be a crowd pleaser.

Recipe to come soon!